Germany Defies Calls To Create €1 Trillion Firewall

BERLIN (AP) — Germany has criticized a call for the eurozone to
boost its financial firewall to €1 trillion ($1.3 trillion),
arguing that demanding ever-high sums only unsettles markets.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development made
its call on Tuesday. It came after Germany signaled it will
support a temporary increase of the lending capacity of the
eurozone's two bailout funds to around €700 billion ($929
billion).

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said
Wednesday: "It is regrettable that apparently no figure is ever
high enough in this discussion."

Seibert argued that advocates of a much-increased firewall
overlook questions over whether countries could credibly finance
it. He added: "the result of such proposals ... is unfortunately
that markets are unsettled again and again."